The Mcdonald's Monopoly Game was rigged

[The Caspian Hare]

Quote

 

Jerome Jacobson and his network of mobsters, psychics, strip club owners, and drug traffickers won almost every prize for 12 years, until the FBI launched Operation ‘Final Answer.’

On August 3, 2001, a McDonald’s film crew arrived in the bustling beach town of Westerly, Rhode Island. They carried their cameras and a giant cashier’s check to a row of townhouses, and knocked on the door of Michael Hoover. The 56-year-old bachelor had called a McDonald’s hotline to say he’d won their Monopoly competition. Since 1987, McDonald’s customers had feverishly collected Monopoly game pieces attached to drink cups, french fry packets and advertising inserts in magazines. By completing groups of properties like Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, players won cash or a Sega Game Gear, while “Instant Win” game pieces scored a free Filet-O-Fish or a Jamaican vacation. But Hoover, a casino pit boss who had recently filed for bankruptcy, claimed he’d won the grand prize–$1 million dollars.

Like winning the Powerball, the odds of Hoover’s win were 1 in 250 million. There were two ways to win the Monopoly grand prize: find the “Instant Win” game piece like Hoover, or match Park Place with the elusive Boardwalk to choose between a heavily-taxed lump sum or $50,000 checks every year for 20 years. Just like the Monopoly board game, which was invented as a warning about the destructive nature of greed, players traded game pieces to win, or outbid each other on eBay. Armed robbers even held up restaurants demanding Monopoly tickets. “Don’t go to jail! Go to McDonald’s and play Monopoly for real!” cried Rich Uncle Pennybags, the game’s mustachioed mascot, on TV commercials that sent customers flocking to buy more food. Monopoly quickly became the company’s most lucrative marketing device since the Happy Meal.

Inside Hoover’s home, Amy Murray, a loyal McDonald’s spokesperson, encouraged him to tell the camera about the luckiest moment of his life. Nervously clutching his massive check, Hoover said he’d fallen asleep on the beach. When he bent over to wash off the sand, his People magazine fell into the sea. He bought another copy from a grocery store, he said, and inside was an advertising insert with the “Instant Win” game piece. The camera crew listened patiently to his rambling story, silently recognizing the inconsequential details found in stories told by liars. They suspected that Hoover was not a lucky winner, but part of a major criminal conspiracy to defraud the fast food chain of millions of dollars. The two men behind the camera were not from McDonald’s. They were undercover agents from the FBI.

This was a McSting.

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-an-ex-cop-rigged-mcdonalds-monopoly-game-and-stole-millions

A complex and somewhat funny plot to rig the McDonald's monopoly game, worth the time to read it if you like reading about heists, scams or weird crimes

Edited July 29, 2018 by The Caspian Hare
fix link

[LostSouls7]

Wow that is crazy! no wonder

I never able to win it.

[Wickian]

Was he the guy that won the Batmobile from Taco Bell back in the 90's as well?

[justin3651]

Thanks, that was a very interesting read! I always figured it was some kind of scam with the top prizes. Oh well, the only time I ever ate their was when I worked there and we were not eligble to win any of the prizes anyway (nor were our families but the one I worked for let it slide with family on food prizes as long as it wasn't too often). in 4 years I never saw a anyone get anything better than a free value meal. 

[GlitterRose]

1 hour ago, Wickian said:

Was he the guy that won the Batmobile from Taco Bell back in the 90's as well?

No, but he also rigged the grey M&M contest.

[GlitterRose]

So much intrigue over game pieces and grey M&Ms. It's kinda comical. 

[Miss Meeseeks]

*laughs*

really? How low can humanity seriously get? We had these ppl robbing MacDonald's and now ppl stabbing each other over Pokemon Go locations...Who would of thought huh?

Edited July 30, 2018 by Browng0at

[Orphalesion]

The Pokemon GO example gets even more stupid than it already is once you learn that a Pokemon that gets caught by a Pokemon Go player doesn't dissappear from its location for everybody else, they can still catch it just fine.
Though TBH I think Pokemon GO was a ****ing stupid idea and should never have been released.

[Miss Meeseeks]

24 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

The Pokemon GO example gets even more stupid than it already is once you learn that a Pokemon that gets caught by a Pokemon Go player doesn't dissappear from its location for everybody else, they can still catch it just fine.
Though TBH I think Pokemon GO was a ****ing stupid idea and should never have been released.

Agreed, u hear many things on the news involving that game from ppl being hit by cars.., being violent to one and another, ppl drowning and even killing one another. I just dont get why this game is so popular in the first place. 

[Farmer77]

28 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

Though TBH I think Pokemon GO was a ****ing stupid idea and should never have been released.

Considering the amount of pale obese people who came out and actually saw daylight and got exercise I think it was a great invention ! 

[Miss Meeseeks]

 

8 minutes ago, Browng0at said:

Agreed, u hear many things on the news involving that game from ppl being hit by cars.., being violent to one and another, ppl drowning and even killing one another. I just dont get why this game is so popular in the first place. 

A meme that i thought was funny and describes many Pokemon Go Users

[Farmer77]

 

[Robotic Jew]

5 hours ago, Orphalesion said:

The Pokemon GO example gets even more stupid than it already is once you learn that a Pokemon that gets caught by a Pokemon Go player doesn't dissappear from its location for everybody else, they can still catch it just fine.
Though TBH I think Pokemon GO was a ****ing stupid idea and should never have been released.

But did it make people Pokemon go to the polls?

[Myles]

I think using "rigged" in the title is misleading.   To me that implies McDonalds knew of it.    I guess it was rigged by the one employee, so technically it is accurate.